個案總覽

In 2013, the long-delayed IPO of the Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Co. Ltd. (BTSC) took place, but in an unusually complex form. Instead of selling the shares of the company that owned the elevated railway concession, what was offered were investment units in Thailand's first publicly listed infrastructure mutual fund: the BTS Rail Mass Transit Growth Infrastructure Fund (BTSGIF). Proceeds from the IPO were used to acquire from BTSC the rights to the net farebox revenue generated from the railway. The investment exposed investors not only to the operating risk of the railway but to other types such as political risk.

In 2013, the long-delayed IPO of the Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Co. Ltd. (BTSC) took place, but in an unusually complex form. Instead of selling the shares of the company that owned the elevated railway concession, what was offered were investment units in Thailand's first publicly listed infrastructure mutual fund: the BTS Rail Mass Transit Growth Infrastructure Fund (BTSGIF). Proceeds from the IPO were used to acquire from BTSC the rights to the net farebox revenue generated from the railway. The investment exposed investors not only to the operating risk of the railway but to other types such as political risk.

BASIX, headquartered in Hyderabad, was the brand name of a group of entities with 6,000 outlets offering financial and livelihood promotion services throughout rural India. Despite its impressive progress in poverty alleviation, raising funds to continue such work was increasingly challenging, as BASIX found when it sought to raise Rs 2.5 billion in capital from private equity investors in late 2010. Not only did the diffuse nature of its work make valuation complex (the standard method would have been to take the sum of its parts and add a premium for the synergies between the entities using the discounted cash flow method ), but investors preferred simpler business models where the service/goods sold broadly met the same set of needs. One that met such diverse needs and spread across so many sectors was harder to figure out, as well as harder to scale up, making investment less attractive. Without scale it was hard to get capital; without capital it was hard to scale up. The question that BASIX is grappling with is how best to position itself going forward.

Fabindia, India's iconic garments and home furnishings company, had come a long way from its humble beginnings as an export shop in 1960, selling handloom fabrics to overseas customers. In 1976, it had started domestic operations in India and over the next 38 years had become synonymous with quality handmade products procured from artisans all over India, with a social conscience. The business combined the twin objectives of making a profit and providing a sustainable livelihood for rural artisans. However, the winds of change were blowing. The next generation of consumers, part of a different economic environment and world order, were less tied to the Fabindia ethos and had widened their consumption habits. Given these changes, was it time to evolve? Should Fabindia broaden its positioning? If it remained niche, could it continue the phenomenal growth it had experienced? If Fabindia chose to broaden its positioning, what should that positioning be?

"With the publication of CK Prahalad's "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid" (2005), the poor were suddenly seen as a potential market in the eyes of multinational corporations (MNCs). Although poor, the BOP is a large and growing market. The development community tends to focus on meeting the needs of the poorest of the poor (the 1 billion people who live on less than US$1 a day), but there is a larger segment of the low-income population, comprised of 3.8 billion people with incomes between $2 and $5 a day, that could be the focus of a market-oriented approach. They have no bank accounts, no access to modern financial services, no phones, are dependent on informal or subsistence livelihoods, and lack access to amenities and basic healthcare. Influenced by Prahalad's work, the top management at Novartis decided that it was time to seriously consider the pursuit of commercial opportunities among the world's poor. The case offers a description of the first steps to setting up the Arogya Parivar initiative by Novartis in India and raises strategic questions like how to improve its supply chain reliability, how to deal with the fact that many consumers were women and yet there were few female health educators, how to make the treatment affordable, whether to launch new brands of medicines for this segment, how to convince consumers to seek medical treatment and ensure compliance with the treatment protocol, etc., going forward. Please visit the dedicated case website http://cases.insead.edu/arogya-parivar/ (copy and paste the url into a browser) to access case videos and other support material."

Spreadsheet Supplement for INS224

Spreadsheet Supplement for INS224

Spreadsheet Supplement for INS224

Spreadsheet Supplement for INS224

In September 2010, Dürr AG issued a corporate bond without the use of underwriters or rating agencies via a new bond issuance platform developed by Boerse Stuttgart. This reflected a growing trend among European corporations to tap capital markets instead of bank debt to secure debt financing.

Spreadsheet Supplement for INS190

A consortium made up of Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG) and Cintra Concessiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte wins the concession for the Indiana Toll Road at a bid price of US$3.8 billion in January 2006. Market observers think the amount is too high, but MIG is confident the asset is worth the price.

Aquasure - a consortium formed by Macquarie, Degremont and Thiess - won the concession to finance, build, maintain and operate the A$5.72 billion Victorian Desalination plant under a public-private partnership initiative known as Partnerships Victoria. Financing took place during the period of the global financial crisis and there was a subsequent political backlash.

Spreadsheet Supplement for INS125

"Microfinance investment opportunities have been well received by Credit Suisse clients seeking socially responsible investments. They provide a ""double bottom line"": a positive financial return (despite the global financial crisis), and a social impact by offering first-time access to financial services to the poor. From $5 million in 2003, total assets under management in microfinance at Credit Suisse reached $1 billion by 2009, and untapped demand is estimated at $300 billion. The firm has positioned itself as a link between the TOP of the wealth pyramid (its clients) and the BOP (base of the pyramid, the poor), but as microfinance comes under fierce criticism for over-indebting the poor, and with a decline in growth, performance and portfolio quality, Credit Suisse must consider its future engagement in this sector of the emerging markets. "